The Hermeneutic of Continuity

The content of the latest Faith Magazine is now online . There is a good editorial on scripture and the hermeneutic of rupture, along with articles on Stanley Jaki, the epistle to the Hebrews, and moral theology. The column by William Oddie, " Comment on the Comments " focuses on the Tablet's attack on my parish and summarises the issue very well.

In his sermon today for the Mass of Pentecost, the Holy Father mentioned that the Cathedral Choir and the Kammerorchester of Cologne sang Haydn's Harmoniemesse. He said that "the music and the singing which accompany this our liturgy, help us also to be united in prayer" Here is a short clip from the beginning of the Gloria :

Fr Flanagan of Boys Town: Speaking to a large audience at a public lecture in Cork’s Savoy Cinema he said, "You are the people who permit your children and the children of your communities to go into these institutions of punishment. You can do something about it." He called Ireland’s penal institutions "a disgrace to the nation," and later said "I do not believe that a child can be reformed by lock and key and bars, or that fear can ever develop a child’s character." However, his words fell on stony ground. He wasn't simply ignored. He was taken to pieces by the Irish establishment. The then-Minister for Justice Gerald Boland said in the Dáil that he was “not disposed to take any notice of what ........... said while he was in this country, because his statements were so exaggerated that I did not think people would attach any importance to them.” (H/T Fr Ray Blake ) In relation to the Christian Brothers, this is relevant: Indeed no one mentions, as D...

The other day I received my three copies of "A Pure Heart Create for Me: Theology of the Body Today, edited by Robert Colquhoun and published by Family Publications . The book is a collection of the lectures given at St Patrick's Soho Square last year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae . The first part of the book consists of lectures specifically on the Theology of the Body and the second part deals with "specific issues for today". There are contributions from Edmund Adamus, Fr Anthony Doe, Fr Richard Aladics, Nicole Parker, Teresa Klepacka and others - the book is well worth reading. My own lecture ("A challenge to the culture") is included in the second part, along with the lecture by Fr Stephen Langridge on AIDS, Condoms and the Catholic Church. Fr Langridge generously acknowledges my own talk on the subject which I gave in his parish a while ago but I am happy to say that his paper is a very good summary of the relevant points with ...

Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, Secretary for the Congregation for the Clergy, has written to commend the Handbook for Parish Vocations teams produced by Fr Stephen Langridge, our Diocesan Vocations Director ( pictured with Fr Benedict Groeschel .) Archbishop Piacenza writes that the Handbook: "appears to have struck a healthy balance between the centrality of the universal vocation to holiness by virtue of our baptism and the indispensable vocations to priesthood and the consecrated life by which the Church worships God, proclaims the Gospel, and witnesses to the work of Grace in her members". He also praises the Handbook's emphasis on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: "Indeed, the volume might serve as a useful resource within the apostolate of Eucharistic Adoration, fostering an awareness of the responsibility of every member of Christ's faithful to pray for and encourage vocations to the priesthood, and to faithfully understand its nature and place within the Ch...

Havbe a loook at Neil Addison's Religion Law Blog and especially his excellent talk given recently at the London Oratory on the subject of Religious Freedom in England Today .

Helping me to catch up on one or two things I missed while away in Lourdes, a correspondent sent me links for the address of the Holy Father at the opening of the Pastoral Congress for the Diocese of Rome. Here is the original Italian text ; and here are a couple of quotations in English translation, thanks to Rorate Caeli and NLM : As I had the occasion to clarify in the address to the Roman Curia of December 22, 2005, an interpretive current, appealing to a supposed "spirit of the Council", intended to establish a discontinuity and even a contraposition between the Church before and the Church after the Council, at times confusing the very objectively existing boundaries between the hierarchical ministry and the responsibility of the lay faithful in the Church. The notion of the "People of God, in particular, was interpreted by some according to a purely sociological vision, with an almost exclusively horizontal severance, which excluded the vertical reference to God....

My local Somerfield supermarket is open until 10pm and is usually quiet on a Saturday evening so I sometimes do some shopping after the evening Mass to avoid buying things on Sunday. The chap in front of me had four cans of butane gas for his barbecue. Saturday evenings in supermarkets tend to have more than the normal ratio of men to women. Hence it is possible for a little bloke-ish conversation at the till: Me : "Blowin' up the 'ouses of Parliament then?" Chap with butane gas : "'S been tried before - no harm 'avin another go." Chap in front of him : "Bring back Guy Fawkes is what I say - all is forgiven" I suppose that is a fair enough picture of the opinion of the average bloke about politics and politicians. It's a rather dangerous mood; I don't claim that parliamentary democracy is an objectively perfect method of government but I do fear that if there is to be a change in how our country is governed, the godless secularism ...

Veilleurs Dans La Nuit ("Watchmen of the night") is a film showing a day in the life of the Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux from Matins at 3.30am to compline at 7.45pm. There are many vids, clips and photos around of lovely monasteries, glorious chant, and atmospheric photos of the consecration. "Veilleurs Dans La Nuit" has all these in abundance but also offers simple but outstandingly effective teaching on the monastic life in particular, much of it applicable to the Christian life in general. For example, there is footage of a monk at his solemn profession singing the Suscipe: Suscipe me, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum et vivam; et non confundas me ab expectatione mea. Accept me, O Lord, according to your word, and I shall live; and do not disappoint me in my hope. (Ps 119:116) This is followed by a monk explaining: "What he sings then is a commitment for his entire future. Man's greatness and nobility lies in his being able to pledge himself by a w...

After the torchlight procession, we were able to look at everyone's photos thanks to a card reader and laptop. Thanks to Wendy, Mac and Greg for sharing theirs. Above is a photo from yesterday afternoon's picnic which was followed by a game of rounders and then the Rosary at the Grotto. After the Rosary, I was allowed to bring the group of children closer for a blessing. Yesterday was also an opportunity to catch up with Fr George of Blogging Lourdes . Sadly, he is soon to be leaving. At his blog, there is a series of posts about the altars in the Rosary basilica. It is a pity that smaller groups (or individual priests) are not allowed to use the beautiful altars for Mass. We have our Mass this morning in the St Gabriel Chapel and then a lunchtime departure for Toulouse airport and our flight home. Say a prayer for a safe journey.

Our Missa Cantata this morning in the crypt of the parish Church of Lourdes was assisted by the superb acoustic of the chapel. I hope to get some photos from Wendy later. We managed quite well with the portable kit that we brought along, including a lightweight self-assembly set of six candlesticks. Afterwards, we spent some time at the statue of the parish priest of Lourdes at the time of St Bernadette. There was a girl of about St Bernadette's age for our reconstruction but as she is taller than I am, a younger girl played the part of St Bernadette while I played the part of Fr Peyramale. At first, he prudently rejected St Bernadette's story of the "beautiful lady": there were many such stories circulating at the time. He was converted when St Bernadette told him that the lady said "I am the Immaculate Conception." He knew that St Bernadette, who had very little formal instruction in the faith, could not have made this up. Afterwards, the boys pinched my ...

Above is a photo from of our "catechetical Mass" by Mulier Fortis (see her blog for other posts about our Lourdes trip.) Many of us went to the baths in the afternoon and others today. Several of the children told me today that this was their most important experience of Lourdes. After Mass, we did the Stations of the Cross - many thanks to Wendy for her photos. You can see above that one of our young pilgrims did the Stations barefoot - he remembered going barefoot for the Holy Mile at Walsingham and just took off his shoes and socks without any prompting; they were put on again to run down the hill at the end. Here we are at the foot of the Stations, at the Celtic Cross - the parents wanted a photo of me and all the children: One young server got a shoulder-carry from Mum for part of the torchlight procession in the evening: At the end of the procession, I joined the clergy for the blessing, led by Bishop McGough, Auxiliary in Birmingham. Here is a view of the pilgrims ove...

Today has been rather overcast in Lourdes with drizzle most of the day so I haven't tried to take a lot of photos. I said some office in the Crypt Chapel and then a private Mass while most of the group were doing the tour "In the footsteps of St Bernadette." The guides who run these walking tours are to be commended for their work which is always much appreciated by pilgrims. In the afternoon, most of the group went to the baths before an afternoon "catechetical Mass" - Low Mass with hymns and some catechesis for the children at various points in the Mass. Plenty of silence too, of course. We followed this with a somewhat penitential Way of the Cross. The Stations at Lourdes are very striking with figures about twice lifesize. They were helpful in catechesis for the children at various points. I haven't got a photo of my own so here is one from Fr Lawrence Lew's Lourdes Flickr Set . At various points in Lourdes, there are signs telling you not to do var...

And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Rev 11.19) Well we didn't have an earthquake, thanks be to God, but on the road out of Toulouse, the coach was hit by golfball-sized hailstones. Having negotiated that, we arrived a little late for dinner at the Hotel D'Angleterre in Lourdes. Apparently the Gave has overflowed its banks in the last couple of days. I'll try to get some photos of the river in spate tomorrow. There are 12 children and 18 adults in the parish group for Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen. Fr Charles Briggs is with us so we will be able to have a "catechetical Mass" and perhaps High Mass one day. We strolled down to the grotto after dinner with children waving the parish flag and singing various songs. They particularly seem to like "God bless our Pope" which will probably be the anthem for this year. We manag...

George Weigel has published an article about L'Osservatore Romano in National Review Online. (See: Parsing the Vatican Newspaper. It doesn’t always speak for the pope .) Fr Z commented on the article a couple of days ago. (See: Weigel on L’Osservatore Romano’s “fideist credulity” ) Weigel takes the line that although the newspaper is published by the Holy See, it "does not speak authoritatively for the Church in matters of faith, morals, or public-policy judgment", and that it is middle and lower-level officials who are enamoured of Barack Obama. He also discusses "the Vatican", saying that it is a confused bureaucracy and that "what counts is what is said by the Bishop of Rome." This is fair enough up to a point and I can only commend George Weigel's loyalty to the Holy Father which I entirely share. Nevertheless, I think that this series of pro-Obama articles show that there are serious problems at the Vatican. L'Osservatore is the officia...

Yay! Congratulations to James and Ella Preece on the birth of Joanne Marie Preece the other day. You can get the details of gas and air and things over at Catholic and Loving It

Firm, wise, and kindly advice from Fr Michael Mary FSSR to a commenter who has been attending a sedevacantist chapel. Father's advice includes the following: [...] take a pen and a piece of paper, kneel down and write the following note: “I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ upon the Apostle Peter, and today I fully accept Pope Benedict XVI as the true Pope of the Catholic Church and I submit myself to his authority in obedience to the same Jesus Christ who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire. Amen.” Then sign the paper and put the date beside your signature. I advise you to make this act of submission to the Vicar of Christ. You will see the good that it will do for you. While you are over at the blog of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer , have a look at the new ship that has arrived to help them transport a marble altar, church furnishings, sheep, cattle, stone chips, fuel, tractor, trailer and m...

The report of the Irish Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse has dominated religious reporting in England over the past few days. Here are the key documents: Executive Summary Full Report They make sickening and heartbreaking reading. I don't intend to try and say anything clever or original in the face of this evil. Have a look at the above pious representation of Our Lord's love for children. Or this one: Our Lord said what needs to be said in the case of one who commits scandal against children, let alone sodomy: It were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matt 18.6) I am reminded of the heartfelt words of Pope Benedict at his Homily at the Mass for bishops, Seminarians and Novices during his visit to Australia last year: Here I would like to pause to acknowledge the shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious in this country. Indee...

Pope2You is a new project from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications with links to the YouTube channel, WikiCath, and Facebook and iPhone apps. I just got the item I need to fill up a space in this week's parish newsletter.

Taking my daily flick through the blogs, I find that NLM has various photos of the Installation, Vespers etc. from ... the Flickr photostream of the Catholic Church in England and Wales . It even has a creative commons license. Let's not be sniffy about this. Congratulations! Sincerely. Here's a photo from Solemn Vespers: And yep - Photo credit: CCN/Marcin Mazur.

I heard about this one the other day and just found it on Yahoo.

At a meeting of the Faith Movement a while back, people were calling Fr Luiz Ruscillo "Canon". I thought they were joking but they weren't. On Tuesday 12 May, Bishop Campbell of Lancaster (successor to Bishop O'Donoghue) installed Canon Ruscillo and Canon Watson as canons of the Cathedral Chapter. Luiz came to the Venerable English College just after I had been elected "Senior Student." (Something of a surprise result, it would be fair to say.) I therefore had the task of inducting him and fellow first years into life at Rome. It is great to see his sterling work recognised by his diocese. Canon Ruscillo is head of the Diocesan Education Service and has assisted Bishop O'Donoghue with some of the "Fit for Mission" documents. Here is a photo that we were chuckling over the other day (Canon Luiz is on the left): Congratulations, Canons! (I have instructed Canon Ruscillo to bring his new kit down to Blackfen for my Jubilee Mass.)

Fr Z has started a good game at his blog. (See: Weekend ) Here are the rules: You can invite EIGHT people to join you for a leisurely weekend. Call it a shooting party ala Gosford Park. There will be slow and well-paced meals and, of course pre-prandials. Since you are at the WDTPRS county manor (on my planet, that is), you will be able to talk into the night and continue the next day. Who MUST be there? ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST BE ALIVE (now). Go over to Fr Z to see his list . Off the top of my head, here's mine for the party at the Hermeneutical Country House: Damian Thompson Richard Dawkins Hilary White Catherine Pepinster Tom Pink Mgr Basil Loftus Fr Ray Blake Tony Blair I have an extra rule: No Confidentiality. Everything can be put on blogs, twitter, YouTube or in the dead tree press.

The Bishop of Metuchen has appointed Father Guy Selvester ( Shouts in the Piazza ) as Rector of the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament in Raritan, New Jersey with effect from June 16 2009. The Shrine, built in 1856, was made the home of the Diocesan Eucharistic League in 1989. In addition, the Shrine has been the home of the usus antiquior in the Diocese of Metuchen. Under the Ecclesia Dei indult, the old Mass was celebrated there on Sunday morning twice a month. Since Summorum Pontificum it has been celebrated daily in addition to a daily celebration of the ordinary form. Fr Selvester has a post giving more information about the shrine . My warmest congratulations to Fr Selvester. Please remember him in your prayers as he prepares to take up his new appointment.

Pro-Life vigils are a very good opportunity for priests to give support to active pro-lifers. The Helpers of God's Precious Infants often speak of how a prayerful presence outside an abortion clinic is a way of spiritually being present at Calvary. it may be that a life is saved, maybe not. What is important is to be there peacefully and prayerfully in union with Christ. The Helpers always like to have a priest with them. It can be a little uncomfortable because sometimes there are hostile reactions - but sometimes it is painfully obvious that such reactions are themselves indicative of post-abortion trauma. I sometimes get over to the Maidstone vigils but I can't make the next one I was asked for. I suggested to Carole that I could make an appeal here for priest volunteers and she welcomed the idea. So if you are a priest and can spare a couple of hours just once in a while to get over to Maidstone, please email Carole .

The relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux will be exposed for veneration in churches throughout England & Wales in the autumn of 2009. They will be in the Oratory in Oxford on 7th and 8th October and there is a blog giving news and updates concerning the visit. See: St Thérèse in Oxford . There is also a Brochure for the event.

L'Osservatore Romano recently published an article which was astonishingly favourable to President Obama. The other day, the Editor, Gian Maria Vian gave an interview to Paolo Rodari of Palazzo Apostolico, justifying the article. Catholic News Agency has a report in English . Vian astonishingly says that Obama "is not a pro-abortion president." Concerning the commencement address, he says: “His speech at Notre Dame has been respectful toward every position. He tried to engage the debate stepping out from every ideological position and outside every ‘confrontational mentality.’ To this extent his speech is to be appreciated.” Vian plays down the opposition of "a few bishops", simple faithful and pro-lifers, presenting them as though they were one of two sides in a debate which is observed impartialy by L'Osservatore Romano . Here are links to further comment: Fr Z: Rodari interviews Vian on what he is up to with L’Osservatore Romano LifeSite News: Vatican ...

The Catholic Herald has live update coverage of the Installation of Archbishop Nichols which is starting in a few minutes. [ UPDATE ] Here are a few screen grabs from near the beginning of the ceremony as televised live on BBC2 .

Saturday the 9th of May Saturday the 16th of May Derek Hope of Kent Photonews kindly sent me web-suitable versions of the official photos that he took of our first communion groups over the past two Saturdays. Please remember the children and their families in your prayers. If you are looking for a wedding photographer, I recommend Derek - his website shows that he offers a very good and reasonably-priced service.

" The 13th Day ", a new film by Ian and Dominic Higgins, premiered last week at the Cannes Film Festival. The makers are currently negotiating for someone to handle the distribution and expect it to be available in North America in 6 months. I hope that they succeed and that it is also available for us over here. Here is the official trailer which looks good:

I am happy to pass on details of the Summer School for Young Catholics. I have known several young people who have attended this summer school and have gained great benefit from it. International Summer School for Young Catholics INSTAURARE OMNIA IN CHRISTO Restore All Things in Christ July 25th – August 1st 2009 at the Oratory Preparatory School, near Reading After the sad death of David Foster in late December, Dominic Sullivan, Sr. Valerie Walker O.P. and Susanna Ward intend to continue the International Summer School which he started in 1982. David had a high ideal of what a Catholic school should be, insisting that it must not simply impart religious doctrine as an isolated subject, but that supernatural revelation should inform the whole of its syllabus and life. Although only a week long, his summer school tried to cover a wide range of knowledge within a Catholic framework, and to demonstrate that modern culture both derives from Catholic roots and yet denies them. The course i...

This fascinating clip, first broadcast on 25 September 1960 by Radio Canada, shows the beginning of a Pontifical Low Mass for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost celebrated by Bishop Émilien Frenette, Bishop of Saint-Jérôme, in the Studio. The Mass is celebrated as a "Dialogue Mass" versus populum , and the populum confidently bellows out the various responses in Latin. Everyone knows what to do - the maniple is ready for the end of the Indulgentiam , the servers assist the Bishop ascending the steps by holding the fringe of his alb in ceremonial deference to his office as "Pontifex" and the bugia (hand-held candle) is there right on time for the Introit Miserere mihi Domine . Within a decade, all of this will be rapidly disappearing from the rite. H/T NLM

H/T American Papist

The blog for the Installation of Archbishop Nichols has some interesting updates. The music promises to be superb: James MacMillan has been commissioned to write two pieces: one for choir, organ, brass and timps, the other for choir a cappella . Both are settings of texts from the pre-reformation rite of reception and installation of an Archbishop of Canterbury. Other music will include 2 specially composed fanfares by Colin Mawby, a former Master of Music, and his setting of Ave verum corpus . The mass setting is Palestrina's Missa Tu es Petrus, and the offertory motet is an 8-part Venetian setting of Iubilate Deo by Giovanni Gabrieli. The Te Deum is sung to gregorian chant alternating with a fauxbourdon by Victoria. The rite itself is to be the ancient Catholic rite used in similar circumstances for the Reception and Installation of the Archbishops of Canterbury prior to the Reformation. See also Christina White's excellent article in the Catholic Herald on the new vestme...

At Aylesford there is a reliquary containing the skull of St Simon Stock whose feast was celebrated last Saturday in the Archdiocese of Southwark. Here is the proper collect for his feast as found in the Southwark supplement to my old breviary: Plebs tibi, Domine, Virginique Matri dicata, beati Simonis solemnitate laetetur: et sicut per eum tantae protectionis signum obtinuit, ita praedestinationis aeternae munera consequatur. O Lord, may the community dedicated to You and to the Virgin Mary rejoice at the solemnity of blessed Simon: and just as it obtained through Him a sign of such great protection, so may it gain possession of the gifts of eternal predestination. The "sign of such great protection" is a reference to the brown scapular. When Our Lady appeared to St Simon, giving him this distinctive Carmelite clothing, she said that whoever died devoutly wearing it would not suffer the fire. Promises such as these are never intended to be a "get out of jail free" ...

A petition has been posted regarding the celebration of Holydays: We would like Archbishop Vincent Nichols to reinstate the celebration of Ascension, Corpus Christi and Epiphany to their correct days. It runs until the eve of Corpus Christi. Sign the petition here .

Since Cláudio Cardinal Hummes became Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, I have occasionally received emails from the Congregation in the form of circular letters to priests. These are always encouraging and today's is no exception. Cardinal Hummes has written to us concerning the Year of Priesthood. Here is the page for the letter . (You can either read it online or download it.) Here is a quotation: The announcement of the Year of Priesthood has been very warmly received, especially amongst priests themselves. Everyone wants to commit themselves with determination, sincerity and fervour so that it may be a year amply celebrated in the whole world – in the Dioceses, parishes and in every local community – with the warm participation of our Catholic people who undoubtedly love their priests and want to see them happy, holy and joyous in their daily apostolic labours. During the Jubilee Year, the Congregation for the Clergy collected a number of articles for its section of t...

The Pantheon is one of the most impressive buildings of ancient Rome which still survives intact. Built in 31 BC by Marcus Vispanius Agrippa in the aftermath of the Battle of Actium, it was destroyed by fire in 80AD and then rebuilt by Hadrian in 126AD. The inscription across the facade reads: M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIVM·FECIT which means "Marcus Agrippa, the son of Lucius, consul for the third time, built this." It is interesting that despite several other words being abbreviated, the word " tertium " appears in full. In his Noctes Atticae , book 10, ( Latin - English ) Aulus Gellius reports the controversy over whether one should say " tertium " or " tertio ." Even Cicero hesitated to express a definite opinion and advised Pompey to have the ambiguous abbreviation " tert. " inscribed on the Temple of Victory which was consecrated in his third consulship. It seems to me that Marcus Varro's solution as reported by Gellius, makes a co...

It is very heartening to receive news of so many different retreats and events, especially for young people. Organisers frequently tell me that they receive many bookings after a notice has been posted here, so I am happy to help. Young Catholic Adults Douai Abbey Retreat During the weekend of the 18-20 September 2009. Young Catholic Adults (YCA are part of the International Juventutem Federation ) will be running a Traditional Retreat at Douai Abbey in the south of England. The weekend will be led by Juventutem Ecclesiastical Assistant Fr de Malleray. Here are some particularly encouraging points to note: they show that Summorum Pontificum is working - as Fr Z says - "brick by brick." For the first time Young Catholic Adults will be using the main Abbey Church for Mass For the first time YCA will be organising a Missa Cantata , sung by the Douai Singers; this will be followed by a Marian Procession YCA has booked out the whole of the retreat complex this year, on the advi...

This video was produced by the "New Moment New Ideas Company" for the Government of the Republic of Macedonia's, Ministry of Education and Science. It is one of a series of commercials in a social campaign aimed at promoting education. The campaign headline is "Knowledge is Power"; the headline of the commercial is "Religion is knowledge, too. Bringing religion back to school."

The ProLife Alliance currently have two petitions running; one concerns the right to life of the human embryo, and the second calls for the rejection of abortion adverts on TV and radio. (Don't forget the 10 Downing Street Petition against abortion advertising.)

This is an amazing video of the elderly and frail Father Norman Weslin of Omaha, NE, former army colonel and founder of the Lambs of Christ , being plasticuffed and arrested for his pro-life protest at Notre Shame University. They have to load him on a stretcher to take him away. He is one of a number who have been arrested. As the Catholic Online story puts it: This week probably marks the first time in the history of the University when individuals have been arrested on campus for exercising their Catholic convictions and praying a prayer that has been recited in their chapel millions of times since its founding in 1842. Pity the Police. If they had the laws we have in the UK, they could have arrested people for taking the photos.

The other day I wrote about the High Mass in honour of the Carthusian Martyrs on the occasion of Fr Ray Blake's silver jubilee. Here is a video made by Budaev with shots from the Mass: Just in case there is any confusion: the video has been compiled with music from the Mass and various sequences but the music is not synchronised with the liturgical actions. The choir were the parish schola and the Brighton Chamber Choir, directed by Jane Money. You can also read the excellent sermon given by Fr Sean Finnegan.

There is an important talk by Neil Addison at the next meeting of the London Oratory’s Call to Youth (for 18 - 35 year olds) this Wednesday 20 May at 8pm in St Wilfrid’s Hall, The Oratory, Brompton Road. Neil Addison, a Catholic barrister, and author of the book "Religious Discrimination and Hatred Law" will be speaking on "Religious Freedom in Britain", especially addressing the threats to religious freedom today and the way in which we can use the law to protect our liberty. The talk is important because although British Catholics have, in recent times, enjoyed relative freedom in the practice of their Faith, this is not something that can be taken for granted. There will be refreshments afterwards and you can contribute to the discussion with your own questions.

Another lovely first Holy Communion Mass today gives me an opportunity to post photographs of the celebration of Mass in the ordinary form, usus recentior , Novus Ordo , Missal of Paul VI at Blackfen. It is in fact the form of Mass that is used for the vast majority of our Masses at Our Lady of the Rosary. Here is the Offertory Procession: One of the standard photos of the usus antiquior is when the priest genuflects after the consecration. The photo doesn't quite work in the newer form because the priest disappears, apart from his bald patch: Here is a good photo of the special moment itself: Please remember the children and their families in your prayers.

The other evening at Blackfen, Raymond De Souza gave an excellent talk on "Jesus Presence in the Eucharist - real or just symbolic." The talk was excellent, demonstrating that Jesus used both literal and figurative language in his teaching, and that when he spoke of giving us his flesh and blood in John 6, he was clearly speaking literally and not figuratively. We finished off, appropriately, with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. You can find out more about Raymond at the website of Saint Gabriel Communications . He is well-known across the world from his various series on EWTN . Bernadette and Gary Bevans of Mary's Dowry Productions kindly brought Raymond along and it was good to meet them too.

Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP will be giving a retreat for Clergy from Monday 13 July (3pm) to Thursday 16 July (12noon) at Douai Abbey in Berkshire, on the theme ”The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and our priestly identification to Christ.” The retreat celebrates the Year of the priesthood with St John Mary Vianney, Curé of Ars. This will be a silent retreat with reading at meals related to the theme of the retreat. There are full details at the website for the FSSP in Great Britain . Donations are invited to help clergy attend the retreat: cheques should be payable to ”FSSP England” and sent to Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP, 179 Elgar Rd, Reading RG2 0DH, Berks. (Please mention ”Retreat Sponsoring”.)

The Friends of the Suffering Souls is a Catholic Lay Association which conducts a perpetual novena of Masses for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. It was inspired by the 100 consecutive Masses offered for the Holy Souls by the Venerable Archdeacon Cavanagh, Parish Priest of Knock prior to the appearance there of Our Blessed Mother in 1879. The basic idea is that once a year, members ask a priest to say Mass for the Holy Souls. At the website you can read lots about why this is a good idea. If you are a lay person, I encourage you to join the Association. If you are a priest, you may be able to help in a particular way. The Association needs priests who will be happy to accept requests for Masses for the Holy Souls. Unfortunately, I cannot put my name down because I have so many Masses already requested in my parish that I am unable to invite more from elsewhere. However I know that many priests do not receive many requests for Mass intentions. You can put your name down for the ordinary or...